San Francisco 49ers Week 8 Stock Report

Stock down: the entire San Francisco 49ers franchise.

Less than two years ago, San Francisco was in its third straight NFC Championship Game, and the Niners seemed like a premier franchise in the NFL, on par with the New England Patriots—maybe even better than the Patriots. The Niners beat them in New England during 2012.

If those two teams played now, the game would be a joke. New England would win easily. The Patriots are undefeated and a legitimate contender to go to the Super Bowl. The Niners are 2-5 and a legitimate contender to get the first pick in the draft.

Let the rebuilding begin.

This is the Week 8 stock report.

Stock Up: OLB Aaron Lynch

Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

Aaron Lynch sacks Russell Wilson.

At least the Niners have a 22-year-old pass-rusher they can build around.

Outside linebacker Aaron Lynch is elite and doesn’t turn 23 until March 8. He has five sacks this season—tied for second-most among 3-4 outside linebackers, according to Pro Football Focus.

Compare Lynch to Aldon Smith. Smith has two sacks, four quarterback hits and 18 hurries through six games, per Pro Football Focus. Lynch has five sacks, six quarterback hits and 21 hurries through seven games, also per PFF.

Lynch is better than Smith. Lynch will be a Pro Bowler this season if he keeps up this level of play.

Stock Down: General Manager Trent Baalke

Michael Zagaris/Getty Images

Give general manager Trent Baalke credit for drafting Lynch in the fifth round of the 2014 draft. Lynch probably is the best pick Baalke made since 2011.

And that’s the problem. Baalke hasn’t drafted many good players recently. He drafted Mike Iupati in 2010—great pick—but Baalke let him walk during free agency this offseason. And now the Niners have one of the NFL's worst offensive lines. That’s on Baalke.

In less than two years, the Niners went from one of the league's most talented teams to one of the least talented ones. That’s also on Baalke.

His stock is at an all-time low.

Stock Down: QB Colin Kaepernick

Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

Colin Kaepernick took the 49ers to the Super Bowl his first season as the starter. It seemed he’d be San Francisco’s quarterback for a decade or more.

Now, it seems he may be gone after this season. His passer rating is a career-low 82.8, and he’s isolated in the locker room, according to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports.

“It’s not that (the players) don’t like him,” Glazer said. “But he’s just alone, on an island in that locker room. There’s not a lot of people he connects with. Confidence-wise, he’s just buried right now.”

If Glazer is correct, the Niners should bench Kaepernick right away.

Stock Down: Head Coach Jim Tomsula

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Jim Tomsula is a so-called “players coach.”

He takes care of players and doesn’t work them too hard, as opposed to the previous 49ers head coach, Jim Harbaugh, who worked players extremely hard.

Last week before the Niners played the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, Tomsula didn’t make his players run—they walked through every practice. “You’ve got to take care of the bodies,” Tomsula said, per the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.

The result: San Francisco couldn’t match Seattle’s tempo in the first half, got outscored 17-0 and lost. Now, the Niners’ season is pretty much over.

So far in 2015, the Niners have gotten outscored 103-42 in the first half. That’s Tomsula’s fault. He needs to work his players harder during the week so they’re ready to play when the game starts, as opposed to after halftime.

Stock Down: CEO Jed York

Richard Drew/Associated Press

Before the Niners lost Thursday night and fell to 2-5, it seemed they might have been able to salvage their season and perhaps move beyond Jed York’s decision to part ways with superstar head coach Jim Harbaugh.

Now, York’s decision seems more foolish than ever. The Niners are imploding, while Harbaugh is a huge success at the University of Michigan. York apparently convinced himself general manager Trent Baalke was the real superstar in the 49ers organization, not Harbaugh. Oops.

Then, York hired Jim Tomsula to replace Harbaugh as the 49ers head coach. Tomsula is the third head coach York has hired—Harbaugh and Mike Singletary were the other two.

Harbaugh was excellent. Singletary was awful. Tomsula is starting to seem even worse than Singletary.

Good going, Jed.

Follow @grantcohn.